The message I intended to convey in this graphic is the importance of teaching children imperative life skills, such as loving, respecting, and caring for one another. This quote and graphic exemplify some of my beliefs as a teacher: not only do I want my students to learn standards, but I want them to learn how to interact with others and to thrive as emotional human beings--not just as scholars.
Processes:
I created my graphic using GIMP. I began by opening a new project and selecting the pixels I wanted. I then inserted each image as a new layer. I cropped, scaled, and adjusted the perspective of each image before combining both image layers with a solid black background layer. I applied the “make seamless” filter as I was trying to visualize various filters, and liked the way it made my image look continuous. I thought the colors were a little bright and distracting, so I applied the “old photo” filter. At this point, I decided to add my quote using the text tool. I played around with the font and sizes until I liked the way it looked. I thought the image was a little too boring, so I decided to emphasize the two girls hugging. I did this by inserting another layer of the image and using the lasso tool to select an oval cutout of their faces. I also adjusted the brightness of this selection. I then moved it and combined layers into one picture. I felt like I was done at this point because I had emphasized the part of the quote I wanted to. I continued to play with a few filters, but everything was just a little too much, so I stopped. I didn’t want to make my graphic too crazy, so I went ahead and exported my picture. I believe the greatest strength of my process was just selecting tools, analyzing the effects, and deciding to keep, modify, or undo them. I feel like this process allows me to learn more about GIMP, graphics design, and even myself. At the same time, this is a weakness because I end up clicking undo a lot! I seem to believe that I need to try every single filter to find which one is just right. Not sure if this is really a weakness, since I am still learning from it, but it makes my decision making a little tougher. (Something I already struggle with, personally!) I enjoy using the process of just “playing” with the program to design my graphic because it allows me to be more creative than a traditional project. I am able to learn by “getting my hands messy” and trying new things—something that does not feel like a risk when creating a graphic, but does feel like a risk when writing an essay. I feel comfortable learning through trial and error while creating images, but writing through trial and error tends to frustrate me.
Choices:
As soon as I read the description for the graphics project, this quote popped into my head. I have used this quote from Bob Talbert before. I like the way the quote uses different definitions of the word “count”—“count” as in a mathematics skill and ”count” as in what makes a difference. I thought it would be neat to have two images to represent the term “count,” so I chose the image of children counting manipulative bears and the image of children hugging each other (which represents friendship and caring for each other). I decided to unify the pictures by making them seamless and blend them by using the old photo filter. I did, however, want to emphasize what I believe is the most important part of the quote: “… teaching them what counts is best.” I tried to emphasize this by shifting the focal point to the two girls hugging by having them stand out in color.
Graphics:
Counting On by Kathy Cassidy (Found using Creative Commons-Counting On)
Hugging Cheyenne by Evan Long (Found using Creative Commons-Hugging Cheyenne)
Meanings:
The message I intended to convey in this graphic is the importance of teaching children imperative life skills, such as loving, respecting, and caring for one another. This quote and graphic exemplify some of my beliefs as a teacher: not only do I want my students to learn standards, but I want them to learn how to interact with others and to thrive as emotional human beings--not just as scholars.
Processes:
I created my graphic using GIMP. I began by opening a new project and selecting the pixels I wanted. I then inserted each image as a new layer. I cropped, scaled, and adjusted the perspective of each image before combining both image layers with a solid black background layer. I applied the “make seamless” filter as I was trying to visualize various filters, and liked the way it made my image look continuous. I thought the colors were a little bright and distracting, so I applied the “old photo” filter. At this point, I decided to add my quote using the text tool. I played around with the font and sizes until I liked the way it looked. I thought the image was a little too boring, so I decided to emphasize the two girls hugging. I did this by inserting another layer of the image and using the lasso tool to select an oval cutout of their faces. I also adjusted the brightness of this selection. I then moved it and combined layers into one picture. I felt like I was done at this point because I had emphasized the part of the quote I wanted to. I continued to play with a few filters, but everything was just a little too much, so I stopped. I didn’t want to make my graphic too crazy, so I went ahead and exported my picture. I believe the greatest strength of my process was just selecting tools, analyzing the effects, and deciding to keep, modify, or undo them. I feel like this process allows me to learn more about GIMP, graphics design, and even myself. At the same time, this is a weakness because I end up clicking undo a lot! I seem to believe that I need to try every single filter to find which one is just right. Not sure if this is really a weakness, since I am still learning from it, but it makes my decision making a little tougher. (Something I already struggle with, personally!) I enjoy using the process of just “playing” with the program to design my graphic because it allows me to be more creative than a traditional project. I am able to learn by “getting my hands messy” and trying new things—something that does not feel like a risk when creating a graphic, but does feel like a risk when writing an essay. I feel comfortable learning through trial and error while creating images, but writing through trial and error tends to frustrate me.
Choices:
As soon as I read the description for the graphics project, this quote popped into my head. I have used this quote from Bob Talbert before. I like the way the quote uses different definitions of the word “count”—“count” as in a mathematics skill and ”count” as in what makes a difference. I thought it would be neat to have two images to represent the term “count,” so I chose the image of children counting manipulative bears and the image of children hugging each other (which represents friendship and caring for each other). I decided to unify the pictures by making them seamless and blend them by using the old photo filter. I did, however, want to emphasize what I believe is the most important part of the quote: “… teaching them what counts is best.” I tried to emphasize this by shifting the focal point to the two girls hugging by having them stand out in color.
Graphics:
Counting On by Kathy Cassidy (Found using Creative Commons-Counting On)
Hugging Cheyenne by Evan Long (Found using Creative Commons-Hugging Cheyenne)